- Countries to choose from
- Macedonia - formerly Greece
- Turkey - Eastern Neighbor
- From Greece to Bulgaria and Albania
You may not know the geography of the country you have chosen for recreation and spend your entire vacation, limiting yourself to exploring “your” resort and its environs. Or you can plan a great trip that covers several countries at once. And such a vacation will definitely be remembered for a long time!
Many tourists, before going to the Balkans, find out with whom Greece borders. This knowledge will allow you not only to broaden your horizons, but also to draw up an interesting trip route to a neighboring state. Such excursions take at least two days, because on the road you will have to spend at best 5-6 hours.
Countries to choose from
Greece is located in the south of the Balkan Peninsula. It includes not only a part of the mainland, but also many islands of different sizes, among which there are huge in area, on which several cities and villages are built, and very small, uninhabited, often sinking under water during storms.
On land, Greece is bordered by four countries:
- Albania. A small state in the southwest of the Balkan Peninsula has a 282 km long common border with Greece;
- Republic of Macedonia. The border between this country and Greece is 228 km;
- Bulgaria. Greece has the longest border with it - 494 km;
- Turkey. Only 206 km by land and the Aegean Sea separate Turkey and Greece.
All these countries can be entered from the territory of Greece. This allows you to expand the geography of your own travel and find convenient flights.
Macedonia - formerly Greece
The historical region of Macedonia occupied the north of present-day Greece, part of present-day Serbia, Bulgaria and the Republic of Macedonia. In the 5th century BC. NS. the inhabitants of Macedonia were not considered Greeks. In Hellas at that time, it was believed that Macedonia was inhabited by barbarians who did not have their own culture. But Macedonia was famous for its natural resources. Everything was here: steep mountains, including Mount Olympus - the abode of the gods, pine forests, turquoise sea, lakes rich in fish. For a long time, Macedonia was ruled by the Ottoman Empire. At the beginning of the 20th century, all the neighboring countries began to claim this historical province. After the first Balkan War, Macedonia was divided by Greece, Bulgaria and Serbia.
One of the republics of the former Yugoslavia is now called the Republic of Macedonia. It borders Greece and proudly bears its ancient name, which is incredibly annoying for the Greeks. Greece believes that Macedonia has no right to this name. The locals call the Republic of Macedonia Skopje - this is the name of the main city of the Macedonians. This dispute has no solution: each country is confident in its righteousness. However, tourists do not care much about it. There is no bus or train connection between Greece and Macedonia, but nothing prevents you from going to neighboring Macedonia in a rented car. There are no queues at the border between the two countries. Tourists in Macedonia are treated kindly.
Turkey - Eastern Neighbor
There are many Turks in Greece. Even in cities remote from the border with Turkey, the same Thessaloniki, there are Turkish quarters. There are excellent ferry connections between Greece and Turkey. From any large island of Greece, located in the Aegean or Mediterranean Sea, and this is Lemnos, Lesvos, Rhodes, Crete, Chios, Kos and others, ferries run regularly, allowing you to easily get to the Turkish coast. Most tourists choose Turkish Bodrum, Marmaris, Kusadasi, etc. for recreation and excursions.
From most of the Greek islands, ferries run non-stop to Turkey. From Santorini, which is very popular with vacationers, you will have to get to Turkish resorts with one change on the island of Kos or Rhodes. From Kos to Bodrum, a speedboat delivers tourists in just 20 minutes. The way from Rhodes to the same Bodrum will take about 2 hours 15 minutes.
Travelers wishing to cross from Lesvos to the Turkish port of Ayvalik must be prepared to pay a large sum of money. Ferries between these cities run irregularly, and, accordingly, the crossing itself is expensive.
Any travel agency in the Greek resorts will help with the purchase of ferry tickets. The agency staff will also select a convenient time to move and, if necessary, book a hotel room in Turkey.
From Greece to Bulgaria and Albania
You can get to Bulgaria from the cities of Northern Greece, especially from Thessaloniki, by public transport. From the White Tower in Thessaloniki, which is the city center, international luxury buses leave, which follow to Sofia, stopping along the way in several Bogara cities. Sofia is the capital of Bulgaria. From it you can take a bus or train to the Black Sea resorts.
There is also a train from Thessaloniki to Sofia. It departs once a week and follows to Bucharest, stopping for two hours in Sofia.
There is no permanent bus service between Albania and Greece. From Thessaloniki you can get to Albania, but you will have to find out the bus schedule only on the spot. Tourists who rest on the island of Corfu are much more likely to be in Albania. It is connected to the Albanian city of Saranda by ferry service. A ferry ticket will cost about 20 euros.
